Article transporting device

ABSTRACT

Apparatus fpr transporting articles, such as bundles of bricks, including a supporting frame journalled on axles carried between a pair of wheels. A substantially vertical member is pivotally carried by the supporting frame and has a fork member carried thereby for engaging the articles to be transported. The vertical member has holes therein, through which bolts secure the fork member thereto, in a manner so that the fork member can be rotated slightly for properly positioning the fork so the articles being transported. The vertical member can also be pivoted to properly lccate the articles relative to the for. The apparatus is powered by a gasoline operated motor.

22 Filed: v

United States Patent [1 1 Gray A ARTICLE TRANSPORTING DEVICE [76] Inventor: Gary-W. Gray, Route 2, Liberty,

Aug. 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 168,707

[52] US. Cl ..180/19 R, 214/384, 280/4724 [51] Int. Cl. ..B62d 51/04 [58] Field of Search "280/4724, 47.27, 280/47299214/370, 384; 254/1315; 180/19 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS [451 May 29,1973

Primary ExaminerLeo Friaglia Assistant Examiner-John A. Pekar Attorney- Ralph Bailey and-Julian W. Dority [5 7] ABSTRACT Apparatus fpr transporting articles, such as bundles of bricks, including a supporting frame journalled on axles carried between a pair of wheels. A substantially vertical member is pivotally carried by the supporting frame and has a fork member carried thereby for engaging the articles to be transported. The vertical member has holes therein, through which bolts secure the fork member thereto, in a manner so that the fork member can be rotated slightly for properly positioning the fork so the articles being transported. The vertical member can also be pivoted to properly locate the articles relative to the for. The apparatus is powered by a gasoline operated motor.

6 Claims; 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEBHAYZSIQH 3 735,831

SHEET-1 0F 2 mvsmorc GARY W. GRAY ATTORNEYS.

PATENIEBHAY29IH73 SHEET 2 BF 2 A TTOR NE Y5 R O T N E V m GARY w. GRAY BY fig/2 I SWORTING DEVHCE In the building industry, and in particular, connected with laying of bricks it is necessary to transport stacks of bricks, mortar, concrete blocks, etc. from an area where the articles are stored to the working site. Heretofore, the bricks were either placed in a wheelbarrow and moved to the working site or carried by hand. Such not only is laborious, it is relatively slow, since if the blocks and bricks are being carried by hand, only a limited number can be carried at a time. If the blocks or bricks are being placed in a wheelbarrow they have to be manually loaded and unloaded from the wheelbarrow.

Another problem in using wheelbarrows and the like, is that frequently the building site is located in a rough terrain which may include mud and the like. A considerable amount of effort is required to propel the wheel barrow over such terrain.

Generally, concrete blocks and bricks are delivered to the site by a truck which is equipped with automatic lifting means that engages large bundles of the brick and lowers them to the ground. These large bundles of bricks include several stacks or bundles of individually wrapped bricks that include approximately one hundred bricks. Normally, the bricks in these, bundles are stacked so as to provide openings in order to receive the tang of a fork member to facilitate unloading from the truck. The apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention is provided for transporting .these bundles of approximately one hundred bricks from the unloading site to the construction site. It is to be understood, of course, that various adaptors can be placed on the fork member provided for engaging the brick for transporting concrete blocks and containers which hold mortar and the like.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a relatively simple apparatus which a single man can operate for transporting articles, such as bundles of bricks, from an unloading site to a building site.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which has forks thereon, which can be pivoted and rotated so as to properly engage the bundle of bricks.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled apparatus which has fork members mounted thereon, that can be adjusted to accomodate various articles to be transported. The construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features thereof.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification, and by a reference to the accompanying drawings forming a .part

thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

; FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention,

FIG.2 is a plan view takenfrom the top showing the apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view looking from the bottom, illustrating the supporting frame and drive mechanism for the apparatus,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the substantially vertical support member with the fork members mounted thereon.

Referring in more detail to the drawings, there is illustrated an apparatus for transporting articles, such as bundles of bricks and the like. The apparatus includes an axle A having a pair of spaced wheels B journalled on opposed ends thereof. A supporting frame C is carried on the axle. An upright frame member is carried by the supporting frame. A substantially vertical member D is carried by the upright frame. A fork member E is carried by the vertical member for engaging the articles to be transported. A pair of handles are provided, each having one end coupled to the upright frame with the other end extending rearwardly so that by depressing the other end of the handles the fork E and the articles are raised to a transporting position. The vertical member D is pivotally coupled to the upright frame member so that the vertical frame member and the fork member E can be pivoted to properly engage the articles to be transported. The fork memembers are attached to the vertical member D by bolts passing through holes in the vertical member. The holes are larger in diameter than the bolts so that the fork members E can rotate slightly.

The axle A is joumalled in a pair of spaced bearings 10 and 11 carried on the bottom of the supporting frame C and has pneumatic wheels B carried on the end thereof. The supporting frame C is constructed of I spaced angle members 12 and 113 which are joined by angle members 114 and 115. Positioned on the angle members 12 through 15 and secured thereto is a metal plate 15a which supports a conventional gasoline motor 116. Also,positioned on the metal plate 15a is a gear box 17. The gasoline powered motor 16 has a shaft 18 extending through the plate 15 upon whqch a pulley 19 is fixed. A belt 20 extends around the pulley 19 and over another pulley 20 which is carried on a shaft 21 providing an input to the gear box 17. The gear box '17 has an output shaft 22 upon which a sprocket 23 is fixed. A chain 24 extends around the sprocket 23 and another larger sprocket 25 mounted on the axle A for driving the wheels B. The gear box 117 is provided with a lever 26 which can be shifted to cause the wheels B to be rotated at various speeds in the forward direction or in a reverse direction. It is also provided with a neutral position. A rod 27 extends from the lever 26 to a hand operated lever carried on the end of the handle 29 so that the operator can readily change gears.

A belt tightening roller 31 is provided for tightening the belt extending between the pulley 19 on the gas motor 16 and the pulley 20a on the gear box 17 so as to place such in driving relation. The pulley 31 is carried on a pivotal arm 32 which is pivoted at junction 33 by a lever 34. When the lever 34 is moved it either tightens the belt 20 or loosens such, depending on the direction it is moved. The lever is operated by manipulating a cable 35 which extends up the handle to a hand operated grip 36. Interposed between the lever 34 and the cable 35 is a spring 37 which preventstoo much tension from being placed on the lever 34. Another spring 38 is connected between the cable 15 and the frame for returning pulley 31 to its initial position, that is not pressing against the belt 20. The cable 35 is guided along the supporting frame and handle 29 by free rotating pulleys 39 and 40. it may also extend through eye bolts provided on the handle for guiding the cable 35 therealong. Extending upwardly from the supporting frame C are a pair of U-shaped upright frame members 42 and 43 which are secured adjacent the lower end thereof to the supporting frame as by welding or any other suitable means. A brace 44 extends between the upright frame members 42 and 43 for adding strength thereto. A pipe 45 extends between the upright frame members 42 and 43 adjacent the front thereof.

The elongated handles 29 and 29a are attached to angle members 46 and 47 by any suitable means, such as bolts. The elongated handles 29 and 29a are constructed of wood, wherein, the angle members 46 and 47 that are welded to the upright frame members 42 and 43, respectively, are constructed of iron. It is noted that the handle 29a has a lever 48 that operates a cam action disc brake 49 mounted adjacent a rotating shaft of the gear box 17 for stopping the rotation of the gear box when the belt 20 is disengaged. The details of the cam action disc brake are not shown since such is a conventional braking mechanism for gear boxes. The cam action disc brake 49 is operated through a cable 50 which extends around a pulley 51 up the handle 29a to the brake lever 48. A throttle 52 is also provided on the handle 29a for varying the supply of gasoline to the motor through use of a cable (not shown).

A substantially vertical member D is carried by the upright frame members 42 and 43 and is planar in construction for acting as a backstop for the fork members E and the articles being transported. The vertical member D has a plurality of aligned holes drilled therein through which the ends of a pair of U-bolts 54 extend for securing the vertical member D to the cross pipe 45. The closed end of the U-bolt 54 is slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe 45 so that the vertical member D can be readily pivoted on the pipe 45. The U-bolts 54 which constitute pivot means are vertically spaced from the base of the fork members E.

The fork members E are carried on the outer end of the U-bolts 54 and are secured thereto by pins 55. The fork members E includes a pair of L-shaped members each including an upright portion 56 and an outwardly extending portion 57. The holes in the upright portion 56 through which the ends of the U-bolts 54 extend are slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of the U- bolts so that such can be rotated slightly to properly engage slots in bundles of bricks and the like, such as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As can be seen in FIG. 5, additional aligned holes 56a re provided in the upright portions 56 of the fork members E so that the height of the fork members E off the ground can be varied. The dotted lines 58 in FIG. 4 represents a bundle of bricks of approximately one hundred and the slotted portion identified by the reference character 59 represents a slot provided in the bundle of bricks which is adapted to receive the outwardly extending portion 57 of the fork member E. Extensions 60 can be added to the outwardly extending fork members 57 by slipping the elongated fork member 60 over the outwardly extending portion 57 and securing such thereto by a bolt 61 passing through holes 62 and 63, provided in the members 60 and 57, respectively. A pin is generally used for locking such together. A looped bracket 64 is provided on the extension 60 to aid in securing the extension to the outwardly extending portion 57. The extensions 60 are usually utilized when it is desired to transport bundles of concrete blocks which are larger than the bundles of brick. It is also to be understood that bucket-like containers can be attached to the outwardly extending portion 57 of the fork member for transporting mortar and the like to the working site.

After the bundles of brick or similar items, such as concrete blocks, mortar, etc., have been deposited at a building site the operator separates the large bundles into the individually wrapped bundles of approximately one hundred bricks. The operator rolls the apparatus up to the bundle of bricks and if necessary, manually tilts the vertical member D, such as illustrated in FIG. 4, from the phantom position to the full line position so that the forks E will engage the openings in the bricks. Sometimes it may be necessary to rotate the forks slightly such as shown in FIG. 5 so that the forks will be in alignment with the holes. The operator then depresses the handles raising the articles off of the ground. If the motor is running, he then shifts the gear box by moving the lever 28 into the forward position. He then pulls up on. the handgrip36 causing roller 31 to tighten the drive belt 20 which extends between the output pulley 19 of the gasoline motor and the input pulley 20 of the gear box. his causes the apparatus to be propelled forward. The speed of rotation is controlled by the throttle 52 carried on the other handle 29a. Upon reaching the desired location the hand grip 36 is released and the brake grip 48 is pulled up to stop the gear box. The handles are then raised and the apparatus is backed off from the stack of bricks. Sometimes it may be desirable to place the apparatus in reverse gear in doing such.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for transporting articles such as bundles of bricks and the like comprising: an axle, a pair of spaced wheels journalled on opposed ends of said aide, a supporting frame carried on said axle, an upright frame member carried by said supporting frame, a substantially vertical member carried by said upright frame, a fork member carried by said vertical member for enaging said articles to be transported, a pair of handles each having one end coupled to said upright frame with the other ends extending rearwardly so that by depressing said other ends of said handles said fork and articles are raised to a transporting position, and a pivot means vertically spaced from said fork member coupling said vertical member to said upright frame member so that said vertical member and said fork member can be pivoted to properly engage said articles to be transported.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fork member includes a pair of L-shaped members each including an upright portion and an outwardly extending portion, and means for loosely attaching said upright portions of said L-shaped members to said vertical member so that said L-shaped members can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a gasoline powered motor carried on said supporting frame in driving engagement with at least one of said wheels for propelling said apparatus.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vertical member has a plurality of holes therein, bolts extending through said holes in said vertical member engaging said fork member, said bolts being of a diameter substantially less than the diameter of said holes so that said fork member can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles.

5. An apparatus for transporting articles comprising: an axle, a pair of spaced wheels journalled on opposed ends of said axle, a supporting frame member carried on said axle, an upright frame member carried by said supporting frame, a substantially vertical member carried by said supporting frame, a fork member carried by said vertical member for engaging said articles to be transported, a pair of handles each having'one end coupled to said supporting frame with the other ends of said handles extending rearwardly so that by depressing said other ends of said handles said fork member and articles are raised to a transporting position, a pivot means vertically spaced from said fork member cou-' pling said vertical member to said upright frame member so that said vertical member and said fork member can be pivoted to properly engage said articles to be I transported, and means for loosely attaching said fork member to said vertical member so that said fork member can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said vertical member has a plurality of spaced holes therein, said means for loosely attaching said fo'rk member to said vertical member includes bolts extending through said holes in said vertical member engaging said fork member, said bolts being of a diameter substantially less than the diameter of said hole so that said fork member can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles, and said location of said fork member can be varied relative to said vertical member by placing said bolts in different holes.

t I '0 i 

1. An apparatus for transporting articles such as bundles of bricks and the like comprising: an axle, a pair of spaced wheels journalled on opposed ends of said axle, a supporting frame carried on said axle, an upright frame member carried by said supporting frame, a substantially vertical member carried by said upright frame, a fork member carried by said vertical member for enaging said articles to be transported, a pair of handles each having one end coupled to said upright frame with the other ends extending rearwardly so that by depressing said other ends of said handles said fork and articles are raised to a transporting position, and a pivot means vertically spaced from said fork member coupling said vertical member to said upright frame member so that said vertical member and said fork member can be pivoted to properly engage said articles to be transported.
 2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fork member includes a pair of L-shaped members each including an upright portion and an outwardly extending portion, and means for loosely attaching said upright portions of said L-shaped members to said vertical member so that said L-shaped members can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles.
 3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a gasoline powered motor carried on said supporting frame in driving engagement with at least one of said wheels for propelling said apparatus.
 4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vertical member has a plurality of holes therein, bolts extending through said holes in said vertical member engaging said fork member, said bolts being of a diameter substantially less than the diameter of said holes so that said fork member can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles.
 5. An apparatus for transporting articles comprising: an axle, a pair of spaced wheels journalled on opposed ends of said axle, a supporting frame member carried on said axle, an upright frame member carried by said supporting frame, a substantially vertical member carried by said supporting frame, a fork member carried by said vertical member for engaging said articles to be transported, a pair of handles each having one end coupled to said supporting frame with the other ends of said handles extending rearwardly so that by depressing said other ends of said handles said fork member and articles are raised to a transporting position, a pivot means vertically spaced from said fork member coupling said verticAl member to said upright frame member so that said vertical member and said fork member can be pivoted to properly engage said articles to be transported, and means for loosely attaching said fork member to said vertical member so that said fork member can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles.
 6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said vertical member has a plurality of spaced holes therein, said means for loosely attaching said fork member to said vertical member includes bolts extending through said holes in said vertical member engaging said fork member, said bolts being of a diameter substantially less than the diameter of said holes so that said fork member can be rotated slightly for properly engaging said articles, and said location of said fork member can be varied relative to said vertical member by placing said bolts in different holes. 